• Manchester City were prepared to pay £18m for West Brom’s Evans • Evans says countries will fear Northern Ireland in a World Cup play-off Jonny Evans is claiming he was never distracted by Manchester City’s interest during the transfer window but was inspired to become a better player by the cl...

Today’s whispers got a late call-up In a world where Jesse Lingard can collect six figures every week from the vault underneath the Old Trafford pitch – in return for 84 minutes of bench-based Snapchat stories and six minutes of dogged, diligent wingplay – one has got to take their hat off to Dan...

Gareth Southgate celebrated his 47th birthday on Sunday and was asked whether he’d received a cake from his England players. His response was to joke about Yaya Touré, referring to comments the player’s advisor, Dmitry Seluk, made back in 2014 about Manchester City not getting him a cake on his o...

In an exclusive extract from his new book, Darius Vassell recalls his incredible season with Turkish side Ankaragucu, which involved a remarkable welcome, several broken promises and a truly bizarre pre-match ritual I didn’t want to become a journeyman footballer. Aston Villa was the only club I’...

Pep Guardiola’s treatment of the still prolific striker, who is closing in on the Manchester City scoring record, has been mystifying It isn’t easy sometimes understanding why Pep Guardiola gives the impression that he is never fully satisfied with Sergio Agüero, and it is even more perplexing wh...

A record amount of money was spent in the window following the latest Premier League TV contract, but some of the most publicised deals didn’t materialise The summer-long Alexis Sánchez saga twisted at the very last, with Arsenal relaxing their absolute not-for-sale stance. Manchester City made t...

• Forward will wear Ousmane Dembélé’s No7 shirt at Dortmund • Sancho had been linked with moves to Arsenal and Tottenham Jadon Sancho has become the latest young English player to move overseas after Borussia Dortmund confirmed the 17-year-old has joined from Manchester City for a fee understood...

Manchester City’s 27-year-old summer signing is considered overpriced by many but the fee has merely been ramped up by inflation and is fast becoming the new norm One way to contemplate the mind-boggling millions Premier League clubs have spent signing footballers in this record-breaking transfer...

• City’s offer for Sánchez thought to be in region of £55m plus add-ons • Arsenal will not accept that or sell without finding a replacement Manchester City have lodged a second bid for Alexis Sánchez, thought to be in the region of £55m plus add-ons. That is still some way below Arsenal’s valuat...

• Goalkeeper has been informed he will start ahead of Jack Butland • Tottenham right-back Kieran Trippier ruled out by injury Gareth Southgate is ready to give Joe Hart a vote of confidence by including him in England’s World Cup qualifier in Malta and resisting the temptation to call up Jack But...

The outcry against the treatment of Manchester City fans at Bournemouth is a reminder – heavy-handed police and stewards should be shown the red card It’s great. Your football team scores, first minute, last minute, last minute of injury time, any time. There are 30 seconds of ecstasy, exuberance...

Red Bull, in Germany, Austria, Brazil and the US, and Manchester City have built up networks of sister clubs that save them time and money If the transfer of Naby Keïta to Liverpool looks like a vindication of Red Bull’s corporate approach to football, just wait until someone makes a bid for Igor...

• City preparing improved bid in last attempt to sign Chile forward • Arsenal keen to sign Monaco’s Thomas Lemar if Sánchez leaves Arsenal will go into transfer deadline day on tenterhooks over Alexis Sánchez, with Manchester City hopeful that an improved bid will persuade the London club to sell...

Manchester City’s manager has the raw material so why is he not bringing the best out of such players rather than attempting to buy other clubs’ top performers like Alexis Sánchez? The final days and hours of the transfer window seem to be conforming to the usual pattern, the one that makes every...

Fans from all 20 Premier League club tell us how well their signings are settling in and who they want to bring in before the window closes on Thursday night Alexandre Lacazette looks ready to hit the ground running but another centre-back is a must. Virgil van Dijk would be a big improvement in...